Dancing Flame
by stewiegriffin117
Summary: While on a summer trip to her family's forest vacation home, a girl named Samantha returns to the home to find that the house had burned down...with her parents inside it. She flees and is rescued from drowning by a Lucario. Possible romance of SamXLucari


Sam was wet, tired, and very cold. Looking out from the "shelter" she had found, which was nothing more than a rock hanging over a 3 foot cliff, she took in her surroundings.

The forest she was traveling through was completely drenched. The rain were bombs destroying any inch of dryness in the forest. She wiped the rain that came from her hair to her eyes, and took out her map. Looking for anything, a landmark that would tell her where her location was, she moved from the soggy paper to nature's new pool constantly.

After giving up, she folded the paper and started to put it back into her pocket

only for her to accidentally rip it apart on the lip of the jean pocket. She gasped, trying desperately to figure out which piece of the map went where.

Finally, pieces turned into more pieces and they slowly drifted out into the forest on the small currents made by the rock leaking.

Pulling her legs into her and covering her head down into her knees, she cried. It was so cold, so wet. She was lost with no idea where to go or where she was. She was in the middle of an ocean with no one pointing in the direction of land.

She reached out from under her rock, and immediately was soaked from the wrist up. She took her hand to her mouth and drank the small puddle that formed in her palm. She took more small sips before leaning back against the rock.

Calmed down, she looked up at the rock, and tapped it. She hadn't checked to make sure it wasn't going to fall on her if something weighed it down or hit it. She tapped it again. Then, bringing her hand back, she thrust her hand at the rock and hit it with her palm to really make sure it wasn't about to crush her.

Maybe hitting it wasn't the best idea, especially when you're under the big rock.

It moved, and wet mud around the rock flowed down to her. The rock quickly slid out from its hole, and moved down on her.

She tried to crawl out quickly and she was little more than halfway out when the rock slid over her legs, tearing some skin and burying her right leg.

Screaming, she desperately tried to push the massive rock. Its weight was too much for her weak arms. She then tried to pull her leg out, which made her new wound worse.

Blood mixed with brown mud as she screamed and cried for help. The water was getting into her eyes, and the mud stung them as well.

The water in the forest was getting slowly higher. The area she was trapped in sunk deeper than the rest of the forest. She was face down in a slowly filling pond screaming for help.

Opening her eyes one last time, the forest was all she saw. Its green mixed with brown and the red from her leg. The mud converging around her finally got into her eyes and she shut them. Screaming one last time for help, the muddy water came over her head.

She had no time to take a breath thanks to her plea for help. She one more time tried to pull her leg out, but the pain didn't allow her to.

Death slowly waded into the mud to claim her. She could feel its presence, looming over her, reaching out to rip her soul from her wet and bloody body.

Quickly her lungs longed for air seconds after going under. Her chest hurt badly, almost as bad as her leg. She no longer thought anything but death. It was only inches from her body.

Suddenly, the pressure on her leg was felt no more. She was pulled and lifted out of the mud by a pair of arms covered in fur.

Her eyes remained shut, as the sting from the mud still lingered in her sockets. She moaned in weak noises, still feeling the torn flesh on her leg once again.

Suddenly, something in her head activated, like a muscle in her brain that has never been used before. Her head felt different. It felt warmer and slightly tingled. Finally, thoughts sounded in her head.

~Can you hear me, girl?~ something asked in a deep voice.

She didn't respond to the question. She only moaned more.

She felt her savior bring her closer.

~Human!~

She tried opening her eyes. They opened only slightly, before shutting again. The sting brought temporary blindness to her. Again she tried. They opened slightly more than the last time, and she looked into two bright red eyes. Opening them further, she saw the rest of it.

It was a Pokémon. Its face was black and blue. It looked very jackal-like, with pointed ears and a short muzzle. It had four black appendages on the back of its head.

~Hold on, human.~ the voice sounded.

Suddenly, the Pokémon dashed off through the forest, still holding the girl in its arms. Behind them, a trail of red followed.

Sam looked up at the Pokémon once more before passing out.

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The Lucario's movement was only slightly impeded whilst carrying the human. He moved quickly, jumping over rocks, small indentions, and lunging from tree to tree when needed.

While running, he looked down at the human female. She was a mess. Her hair was wet, her clothes were muddy, everything she wore looked dirty. He shut his eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, the four appendages on the back of his head lifted, and around him a blue light encircled him.

He looked at her aura. It was a fading blue. He saw her waves get weaker and weaker.

She was really messed up. Not terribly, but pretty bad.

His eyes opened and he dashed towards an open cave. Once inside, he set her gently on a small bed made out of patches of cloth.

As soon as she was down, he made sure she was in a comfortable position, and dashed again out of the cave.

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Sam woke up dizzy. It was dark, very dark. There was almost no light, only the small dim light from the moon coming in through the entrance of wherever she was.

She tried to maneuver her leg, but only caused pain. She let out a slight cry as the pain sharply shot up her leg.

She was still wet, but it wasn't as cold. The sting from the mud was gone, so she could open her eyes as much as she wanted, but it didn't do too much in this dark place.

She could hear from outside that It was still raining heavily.

Something blocked the moonlight for a moment, making a silhouette of something un-human. It had the pointed ears, the muzzle, and glowing red eyes.

It was that Pokémon that saved her earlier.

She sat up on the makeshift bed as the silhouetted Pokémon approached her. Sam was actually quite afraid that maybe the Pokémon didn't save her just to be nice. Maybe It wanted a fresh meal.

A red flame flashed to life in front of Sara, and light filled the cave. The jackal Pokémon looked at her, as if reading her, and it shut its eyes.

~You shouldn't be afraid, human~ he said, sensing her fear.

~I didn't bring you here to be my dinner.~ It opened them again, red eyes glowing like the red embers.

She let out a sigh of relief. She moved a stray strand of hair from her face, and looked around her new shelter.

Nothing much, just a cave. At least it wasn't muddy.

She had a quick realization.

"You can talk!" She said, astonished. Her mouth was wide open, as were her blue eyes.

The blue Pokémon somewhat smiled at her slow reaction.

~Telepathy, actually.~

She was still wide eyed. Her mouth moved to speak, but her leg forced her to sound out a quick gasp. She quickly grabbed for her leg and held it.

The Pokémon gracefully strode over to her.

~Move your hand, human. Let me see your leg.~

She obeyed moving it. The Pokémon reached out his paw, and a blue light began to glow from it. It shut its burning eyes and searched.

After a moment, it opened its eyes again and the blue light left.

~Your leg muscles need time to repair.~ the voice sounded.

It got up and walked toward the back of the cave out of view, and what sounded like rummaging through things spread to her part of the cave.

She was in pain, but still dumbfounded with the idea of a talking- telepathic Pokémon.

The jackal returned, holding strips of white cloth.

~This will help keep parasites and bacteria out of your leg,~ it stated, approaching her. It gently lifted her hurt leg with its paw, and wrapped with the other.

A brilliant white light illuminated the cave for a brief second. Sam slightly jerked, but the Pokémon didn't move.

~There,~ it said, slowly putting her leg back down. It looked down on her, and cocked its head to the left. After a brief pause, it sent thoughts to her.

A loud rumbling sound arrived late to accompany the light, making Sam jump. The Pokémon again didn't falter.

~Human, why were you out in the forest alone?~ it asked.

"I prefer to be alone most of the time." She said quietly, thinking about something.

~Why?~ the voice again sounded.

She looked a bit uncomfortable, crossing her arms and looking away.

"I'd rather not talk about it…"

The Pokémon nodded its head and stood up. He looked at her, again reading her, and then walked out of the fire lights range into the blackness that the cave owned.

She tried again to sit up, this time successfully doing it with the help of the white cloth. She strained to see where the blue Pokémon had gone to through the concealing shadows that filled the cave.

She sighed to herself, feeling cold and wishing for a real bed, real room, and real source of heat.

Better than sleeping under a rock of course.

The Pokémon came back carrying a bag in its arms. He lay it down next to the fire and its contents spilled out.

Yellow berries rolled out of the bag and some rolled and collided with her soggy shoes. She eyed them with hunger that followed her from the last town.

~Go ahead. They are edible and are not poisonous,~ the voice sounded in her head. The Pokémon sat itself down next to the bag and began to pluck the berries from the cold cave floor and leisurely toss them into its mouth.

She smiled, and reached down to pick up one of the brilliantly colored fruits. Without any delay she shoved the fruit in her mouth, and the flavor washed over her tongue. She didn't savor it, however. Hunger doesn't let you do that kind of thing.

She reached down again and scooped a handful out of the bag. She ate berry after berry, finally being able to have something to eat after a few days.

After a while, she ceased to gorge herself and no longer plucked the delicate berries from the bag. She sighed as she felt how good it felt to actually have food in her stomach. She hadn't eaten that much in a while.

"Thanks…" she sounded, her voice echoing throughout the cave's walls.

The blue Pokémon nodded its head again with a smile. He got up and took the bag back into the darkness.

She lay herself back down onto the makeshift bed and stared out into the darkness, waiting for the Pokémon to re-emerge from the vague shadows.

Soon he did, not holding anything this time. It sat down and closed its eyes next to the orange flame. He didn't make a sound as he sat there.

Sam looked over at it.

"What are you doing?" she asked. It looked like it fell asleep sitting up.

~Meditating,~ the voice sounded, ~I do it to increase my focus when I use the aura.~

She again sat up.

"Aura?"

~the essence that emanates from all things, living or not~ it explained.

"You can see it?" she questioned.

~Yes. With it I can see everything around me, and even a few moments into the future,~ It answered, its eyes still closed.

"Wow… so that's how you could see in the dark like that?"

~Yes.~

She held up two fingers.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She asked, wanting to test his 'aura'.

~Two,~ it said with a slight smile

She added two more fingers.

"Now?"  
~Four.~

She put her hand back down on her lap and her face showed amazement. This aura thing it was talking about was real.

She again lay back down and rested her head on her arms.

"What Pokémon are you, anyways?" she asked, and the Pokémon opened its eyes as it finished its meditating.

~I am a Lucario,~ it said, now facing into the fire.

"I guess you're a 'he'…" she said judging from its voice. It turned its head to her.

~Was it not obvious?~ he said, referencing his reproductive area.

She giggled quietly.

"Well, sorry for not looking while you were rescuing me," she said jokingly.

She too looked into the fire. It gave her a lot of light, but she wasn't close enough to receive its heat. She wanted the latter a bit more than the first. She slid herself off of the bed with caution, not wanting to destroy her leg completely. She put down her left leg, kept her right leg suspended, and hobbled over toward the fire.

Lucario had his eyes shut, enjoying the fire when he heard her make a quick noise. He opened his eyes and saw her swaying back and forth, battling with her body to stay balanced. He was about to get up and help her when she finally fought gravity back and regained her balance.

His eyes followed her as she hopped next to him on her left leg, and plopped down on the fire-warmed rock.

"Ahhh…" she sounded, holding her hands out in front of her body to heat them up.

"This feels nice," she said her body being warmed up by the orange flicker of light. She slowly moved her right leg toward the flame to heat it up a little.

She took a look toward the exit of the cave and even though she couldn't see the rain, she could still hear it. The thought if being back out in the forest now, especially at nighttime, really didn't sound too appealing at that time. She turned to the Lucario next to her.

"Hey… thanks for, you know… saving me and everything," she said, looking at the Lucario.

"If you wouldn't have been there, I think I'd be a soggy body right about now…" she said looking back into the fire.

~Your welcome, human,~ he sounded. She yawned a few seconds later.

"You know, you don't have to keep calling me 'human', right?" she said, looking back through the cave entrance at the moon.

"My name is Samantha, but I just call myself Sam," she said.

Before he could send anymore thoughts to her, another bright light illuminated the cave, this time the loud boom wasn't late.

She shrieked and jumped. Without thinking she was clinging to his arm with her eyes squeezed shut.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes and quickly let go of him and a bright red appeared over her cheeks.

"Oh… sorry…" she said, embarrassed. "I'm a little afraid of lighting."

~It is okay. I was afraid of the same thing when I was a little Riolu,~ he said with a smile.

She looked back into the fire along with him, and watched as it danced with unpredictable turns and twists. The fire moved like a flag on a breeze, constantly waving, constantly dancing with the currents.

She assumed that it looked the same when it danced on her home, on her family.

She still stared into it, reliving the events of two nights earlier.

She was on her way home, holding her backpack full of different things; a map of the area, assorted snacks, other little things. She happily strode back to her warm home where her mother and father were most likely sleeping. She had stayed out late that night, walking around in the woods that she called her 'backyard'.

When she came out of the woods, she saw grey smoke rising from the ground. Her heart almost stopped for a second.

Her walk turned into a run.

The hill lowered itself as she ran up. She was pleading in her head the same two words over and over.

_Pleas… no… Please… no!_

When she reached the top of the hill, she stopped. There was no house on top of the hill she called hers. There was only burnt wood and black covered bricks.

She ran straight into it, going to where her parents' room would have been. She was searching for who she hoped she wouldn't find in the burnt rubble.

It didn't take long for her to find what she didn't want to find.

She moved one board out of the way, then cleared some bricks, then another board…

And then immediately dropped the burnt board and moved her hand up to her mouth with a sharp gasp.

The last board she touched revealed the two blackened bodies of her parents. They were both killed in their sleep.

She backed away from the smoldering heap of wood and brick until she reached the dry grass. She fell to her knees and threw up. Tears formed in her eyes as she wiped her mouth with her hand.

Her mother, her father, were both consumed by the starving orange flame. She had a hard time coming to accept it. She stayed for a long time on her knees, frantically screaming at herself to wake up from the horrible dream as her tears came down her cheeks to form rivers.

Finally, she had realized that she was now alone in the woods, with no one around for miles. Her family's summer home had burnt down with her parents inside. All she had then was the clothing on her back and the backpack. She would have had a car to drive with, but it was too consumed by the flame.

She got off her knees, and without looked back at the house, she walked over to her backpack and slipped it on her back and strode quickly into the woods.

Her mind snapped back into reality, and she felt the Pokémon's paw gently shaking her shoulder.

~Sam, are you okay?~ he asked her with a look of worry on his face.

Tears began to form on her cheeks again, and she quickly moved her hands up to wipe them away.

~Sam… what's... are you alright?~ he again asked, still shaking her with his paw.

She suddenly started to sob as she couldn't keep the tears at bay with her hands any longer.

"No…" she made out through the gasps and cries. Desperately continued to rid herself of the tears, to forget what happened.

The Lucario had no idea what was happening. He was still shaking her with his paw, trying to figure out what was going on.

~Samantha!~ he tried, but she said nothing. She still cried.

Suddenly she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder.

"I can't believe it…" she said through the sobbing.

"I can't believe they're dead..." she continued, her tears wetting his torso fur.

"Mom… dad… I can't believe it…" she cried, and the Lucario figured it out. He figured out why she was alone, and why she didn't want to talk about it.

~Samantha… I… am so sorry…~ he said to her as we put his own arms around her.

"It's my fault… If only I wouldn't have stayed in the woods so late, I could have saved them! I could have woken them up and got them out of the fire!" she cried into his shoulder.

"Why didn't I listen to them and come back earlier!? They're dead because of me! They burned to death because of me!" she sobbed.

~Sam, don't blame yourself for their death,~ he said as she condoled over her parents.

~You are alive now because you didn't return until later,~ he said, as she still sank herself into his furry shoulder.

~If you would have gone back when they told you to, you might be in the same position they were in,~ he said. His shoulder was now a soaked towel.

She finally lifted her head from his shoulder up at him, and he looked at her.

~You are alive because you were late, and it isn't your fault they are dead,~ he said again.

~Things like this happen, Sam,~ he said again. She let out a few sniffles as she rested her head on his shoulder again.

"What am I gonna do…" She said, shutting her eyes.

"I'm an orphan now… I have no family left…" she stated, "no aunts… no uncles… all my grandparents died…"

The Lucario felt horribly bad for her. She looked as if she was only 16 years old, and already her family is gone forever.

She cried on his shoulder until she had no more tears to shed. All that was left was sniffles and sharp gasps as he still held her in his own arms.

She fell asleep in his arms. He too felt as if it was very late, and laid himself onto his back. Her head was still on his shoulder and her arms around his neck as he lay back and drifted to sleep.

---------------Author's note---------------

I'm not sure what to do with this story. I was thinking about making it into a romance story about Sam and the Lucario, but Im not quite sure yet. Review and tell me if you think this is a good way to go or otherwise. And for those of you were waiting for my Halo story to update, Im really sorry. Alot of stuff happened in the last few months. My pc crashed twice, deleting my harddrive and rendering me without a pc for about a month, and my grandfather died. Sorry about keeping you guys waiting.


End file.
